The year was 1995. It was an unforgettable year. Bill Clinton was president. NFL player O.J. Simpson was found not guilty for the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, via a televised courtroom. A bomb placed in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma by civilian Timothy MacVeigh killed 168 people.
Many of the books released that year from authors Danielle Steel, Tom Clancey, and Robert James Waller ended up being adapted into movies. Speaking of movies, the film foray was quite busy with exciting projects. Of course, there were the big Blockbuster films, such as Apollo 13, Toy Story, and Batman Forever, that were the talk of the time.
On the other side of the spectrum was a whole world of budding directors with fresh and compelling visions. Director Michael Bay had released his first film ever, Bad Boys, starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, and John Singleton was on the rise coming off of the success of Boyz In The Hood and prepping for the release of Higher Learning, starring Ice Cube and Tyra Banks.
Meanwhile, Waiting to Exhale, starring the late Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon, had sparked a feminist revolution in the world of womanhood and dating. On the music side, R&B and pop songs TLC’s “Waterfalls” and Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee” were “blazing” the charts — that’s what they used to say back then…”Blazin’ hip hop and R&B.”
Then, there was this small, gritty film called Dangerous Minds, a coming of age story based on the LouAnne Johnson book Posse Don’t Do Homework, about an ex-marine teacher struggling to connect with a group of inner-city high schoolers dealing with the reality of growing up in a war zone littered with poverty and violence. Michelle Pfeiffer, Courtney B. Vance, Lorraine Toussaint, were all featured in the John N. Smith drama. Released on Aug. 11, 1995, the pic amassed $179.5 million worldwide (production budget est. at $23 million), becoming a conversation in mainstream media and social circles.
What really catapulted the film to legendary status, however, was not the film itself, but the hauntingly memorable lyrics and beat of Compton rapper Coolio’s song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” which was featured on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack and released as a single on Aug. 8, 1995.
A bit of trivia, the song was originally going to be used for the Bad Boys soundtrack, but the studio passed on it, refusing to outbid the Disney team behind Dangerous Minds. Coolio’s heartfelt delivery coupled with the infectious hook sung by R&B singer L.V. — who sung all parts of the chorus line heard on the single — made for a successful collaboration, and even more entertaining music video.
Coolio raps, “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left,
‘Cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long that
Even my momma thinks that my mind is gone.”
He continues, “Look at the situation they got me facing,
I can’t live a normal life, I was raised by the street,
So I gotta be down with the hood team,
Too much television watchin’, got me chasing dreams.”
“Gangsta’s Paradise” sampled Stevie Wonder’s 1976 single “Pastime Paradise,” becoming the No. 1 best-selling single on Billboard’s Top Hot 100 songs in 1995 and earning Coolio a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. To date, the platinum-certified song has sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. But, whatever happened to Coolio?
After the success of “Gangsta Paradise,” Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., released eight studio albums, made many appearances on film and television, and toured around the world. He also became a reality star joining the popular show Celebrity Big Brother in 2009. Perhaps inspired by his second-place win on Food Network’s Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, Coolio opted to trade in his music discography for a shot at being a chef — literally.
Armed with his 2009 New York Times bestselling cookbook, Cookin’ With Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price, and an online following, Coolio auctioned his entire library of 123 songs, including “Gangsta’s Paradise,” with the intent to use the funds earned from the sell to produce an entire cookbook series and web-based show. At the time, Coolio’s catalogue was estimated to be profitable at $23,227 per year in royalties, so it was perplexing why he wasn’t able to use these earnings to fund his chef dreams.
As it stands in 2021, music rights firm Reservoir now owns the catalogue after acquiring record label Tommy Boy Music in June. It also appears that the Cookin With Coolio YouTube channel has been idle since 2008. However, Coolio is seen cooking at Compton Burgers in Perth Australia on a video dated Oct. 23, 2020, along with an artist page showing him doing a live performance as recent as July 10, 2021. Sources also reveal the “Fantastic Voyage” rapper is scheduled to perform at a host of festival shows throughout the year.
In recent news, Maranci, a DJ known for making music mashups, dropped a Coolio and System of a Down mashup with Coolio’s hit and SOAD’s “Toxicity” in June. “Gangsta’s Paradise” was also featured on the latest Sonic the Hedgehog film. Through the parodies and reincarnations of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” to this day, fans everywhere still have an affinity for the multi-platinum rapper and his single that has stood the test of time.
